Romeo Gardner, CISSP

A rising tide lifts all boats! The more we share with one another the better we all get. At one of the places I used to work whenever we went to a conference or training we had to come back and give an in person book report to everyone! At first I was like this sucks, but I grew to love them. It was like getting a TLDR on the conference or training. Which conference was a waste to go to, who offered certification exams and who had the best snacks (the most important thing). A few things to share: 1. Tell us if the training is worth it 💰 2. Share conferences you're going to or have been to 3. See a vulnerability in the wild, say something to help another organization out I'm here for the Sharing Shenanigans (that includes food 🍲)

Here's how to start thinking about your brand, finish this prompt: As a Cybersecurity practitioner I want folks to think of me in the community as the cyber (fill in the blank). It could be the cyber python expert, the cyber grc expert, etc.. Here's 3 more tips that can help you: 1. Post about the same thing, helps people know when they see your brand they are going to get the same content and you're the expert at it 2. Post consistently, your favorite brand, practitioner, or website probably does a good job keeping things updated on a regular basis 3. Try education based content that will inform, educate, and provide value from your specific skill(s) in cybersecurity Can't wait to see what you're going to bring to the world of Cyber!

This is always a topic I love to discuss ! The trick is seeing if your employer is willing to pay for it or finding a way to get the certification paid for without you having to come out of your pocket 🙂 (it's expensive out here lol) In preparing for a certification, schedule it first and then study your way up to. If you were going to run a marathon you'd sign up and then run up until the marathon. Same approach, schedule it, study for it, pass it! Good Luck you got it!

One trick I use to embrace openness is to ask for feedback first, before an issue occurs. That way it helps your colleagues know that you want and are seeking feedback to be better. Cyber is a continuous learning cycle not only technical but soft skills as well. The more we seek feedback the quicker we can identify any gaps. The last thing I do is ask the person to keep me accountable by asking, would you mind meeting in the next 90 days to discuss any improvements? This conveys that you are invested in the feedback and also keeps them invested as well.

Lead with Empathy. Technicians/Practitioners are humans that have legitimate reasons the task may have not been completed. I tend to ask what could WE have done differently? Identifying the cause is something I believe we should do together to make sure the same challenge doesn't present itself again. Then I look to provide support on the next task given to show I'm invested in them being successful.

You down with GRC, "Yeah You Know Me". Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC), heavy on the compliance. I'd say if you like sticking to the rules and enforcing them, this might be an area for you to look at. You'll have the opportunity to conduct audits against regulations and standards. Different industries have different compliance regulations and specializing in one could be fruitful. Compliance and Auditing can provide a career pathway for you to not only learn more as it relates to security controls for an industry but it can also help your soft skills. For example, having to provide a briefing about being out of compliance and then delivering the message in a way that shows you're there to help vs hey you suck, goes a long way!